Labour’s proposal to remove the restriction on benefits for families with more than two children has overcome a significant obstacle as Members of Parliament voted to eliminate the controversial cap.
The vote, with a margin of 458-104, signifies a pivotal moment in dismantling a policy that has been criticized for perpetuating child poverty. Despite opposition from Nigel Farage’s Reform party and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives, the decision was made to abolish the two-child benefit limit.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that Parliament’s action is a crucial step towards addressing child poverty and providing every child with a fair opportunity to thrive in various aspects of life.
During the voting process, two recent recruits to Nigel Farage’s Reform party, former Tory MPs Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick, mistakenly voted in favor of scrapping the two-child benefit limit. They were reportedly locked in the chamber after inadvertently entering the wrong lobby.
The Reform party clarified that it was a genuine mistake, emphasizing that no vote was recorded for Nigel Farage himself, while the party’s other five MPs opposed the government’s legislation.
The passage of the bill would eliminate the restrictions on claiming Universal Credit and Child Tax Credits for more than two children in a household. The policy, implemented by the Conservative Government in 2017, has been a target for removal since Labour took office in July 2024.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the decision to abolish the cap in her Autumn Budget to lift an estimated 450,000 children out of poverty. The move aims to rectify the adverse effects of the cap, which have led to increased hardship for many families and the introduction of controversial measures like the “rape clause.”
Statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions reveal that the two-child benefit limit impacted a significant number of households across Great Britain, with a majority of them being working households and housing around 1.7 million children.
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